Thankful for the Best Things

Our friend Dave Drury shared this on Facebook yesterday, and I thought it was worth noting.

It was eye-opening to me, because for the most part, we're in column A. I don't take that for granted.

* Ryan is still employed. Even though his job puts him right in the virus line every day, and I do sometimes have to pray my way through moments of panic about his safety, he does have stable income. I am still employed and able to work from home. I'm not getting as many hours as I did have, but I am getting hours, and I'm able to do so without endangering others by being in their space.

* We haven't gone hungry by a long-shot. (We are likely in danger of the quarantine fifteen, if I'm honest about it. It's not like I made no-bakes yesterday or anything...) Sure, we've had to forfeit some items from our grocery list each week because they're not in stock, but we are far from hungry. We just have to be creative. And if frozen fajita vegetables EVER come back in stock in our county, I'm making fajitas for a WEEK.

* Though our church did have to scramble to fully catch up with online amenities, they did so, and we've been able to worship and meet virtually with our friends/board members/small group/staff, etc.

* Our home is safe, warm, and inviting. (Well. I mean honestly right now it's somewhere between an obstacle course and a hazard because our entire guest room contents have been distributed throughout the rest of the house while we paint that room, but once we put all that back where it goes, it's safe, warm, and inviting.) I don't know that I've ever been able to fully enjoy our home as much as I have in these past few weeks.

* We do not struggle with addictions or depression and have not hated the chance to rest and be together. We have not displayed virus symptoms, had any other health complications during this time, and to our knowledge, no one in our immediate circle of family or friends have had struggles with the virus or with other hospital stays.

* We have the Lord in our lives and our hearts and are so very thankful for His presence with us in our moments of uncertainty and fear when they do hit.

So this little graphic has reminded me how PROFOUNDLY thankful I should be right now. SO many people are living far more heavily in column B, and it wouldn't take much for us to join them there. I'm aware of that.

Today I want to list some things that have been blessings in my heart in the middle of all the upheaval, uncertainty, and difficulty of this season.

* While I would like the opportunity to have the freedom to go out when and where I want, I have enjoyed this past month at home. I have loved naps on our soft couch, feeling the warm sun through the windows of the sun porch, working from my beloved office, and watching our trees blossom in the yard. In the four years we've owned this house, we've put a LOT of work into it, and I have soaked up every bit of the benefits in this month. We love being on the go, and I haven't given up my bucket list dreams of RV life someday, traveling around the country, but for now - I'm thankful for our home and the chance to enjoy it so much.

* This house is also probably more organized than it has ever been since we first moved in. We had just finished renovating our guest bathroom when all this began, but since staying home, we cleaned out and reorganized our master closet, all the dressers, our bedside tables, and the guest room closet. We also (as you read earlier) emptied the guest room and finally painted it - something we'd never paused to do since moving in. I think Ryan also cleaned out the garage.

* We've had time to do some dreaming. We have more projects we'd like to knock out around the house, and I don't know how quickly we'll get to them, but we're starting to figure out the plans, so we'll be ready to proceed when the time comes.

* We have tried something new: nothing. We've enjoyed just sitting on the sun porch, staring out at the yard, the stars, the dogs next door - whatever happens to be there. We've taken more naps in this month than ever in our marriage. We've slept in a few times. We've eaten breakfast together. (Like real breakfast that Ryan cooks.) We've listened to hours of piano hymns.

* We've enjoyed extra time alone with the Lord. I have been in more constant conversation with Him this last month than I've enjoyed since a decade ago when I was in the desert of my heart. I've LOVED my study time, my prayer time, and all the extra worship.

So those have been some of our blessings. We miss seeing people, but we have really and truly not hated this time. We've savored it. We wish it didn't take a pandemic to feel the permission to slow down and just be. But we've appreciated the blessing of being...together.

How about you? Whether you're in Column A or Column B, what blessings have you found in this season?